Event Blog 3

-

 For this event, I went to the Noise Aquarium- Online Meditation and Fundraiser- Oxygen for South Asia event. This event was an online meditation session and fundraiser for people affected by COVID-19 in South Asia. As an Indian-American with family in India, this event was really meaningful to me. Some of my relatives and many of my friends relatives have passed away in India due to COVID-19, so I think an event like this is a great way to raise both money and awareness for the situation. 

India has had a total of 28.4 million cases of COVID and over 338, 000 deaths. The second wave of COVID-19 in India has put a lot of stress on the healthcare system in the country as it has spread throughout the country. One reason the virus has been able to spread greatly in India, because the ability to social distance is a privilege many in India do not have. Often times, we don't think twice our ability to social distance in our homes here, and we have many resources like masks, delivery services, and virtual alternatives available to us. In India it is practically impossible to socially distance. There are 1.3 billion people living in the country, which is three times the population of the United States. However, all of those people live in about 1/3 of the size of America. In addition, the culture pre-covid in India consisted of little distancing. People always crowded together and places were packed full of people. Personal space and the ability to social distance is truly a privilege. 

COVID-19 Cases in India



Crowding in India, do not have privilege to social distance

Additionally, vaccines have not been as available in India. About 443 million people in India have been fully vaccinated, which is only about 5.7% of the total population. This vaccine shortage is expected to continue until July, when production is expected to increase from 60 million doses a month to 100 million doses a month.

Since COVID-19 has devastated India and South Asia, and they don't have enough resources, this event was extremely important. There is a lack of oxygen in India, so this online meditation and fundraiser was good to raise money and awareness. The meditation is created using a noise aquarium consisting of plankton. Plankton produce 80% of our oxygen. These plankton produce oxygen through photosynthesis, that allow us to breathe. The meditation displayed videos of oceanic plankton and calming sounds. I think this event combined both topics of art and science we have discussed this quarter. I have learned about photosynthesis and photosynthetic organisms in my biology classes, and I think they are really important for oxygen production. I think that focusing on the plankton and creating an artistic event to raise awareness about a lack of oxygen for people affected by COVID-19, is a really good application of multiple fields. I like the idea of having a virtual event to get people together even during the pandemic. A virtual event is something I might add into my final project proposal idea.

Plankton that produce oxygen

I really liked this event. I thought it was calming to take a break amongst the stress of finals week, and focus on meditation. I also thought that it was a meaningful event that supported a good cause. I definitely would recommend this event to others, and I hope I can attend one in person in the future. 

Screenshot from the event


Sources:

Abi-habib, Maria, and Sameer Yasir. “India's Coronavirus Lockdown Leaves Vast Numbers Stranded and Hungry.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Mar. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/03/29/world/asia/coronavirus-india-migrants.html. 

Ellyatt, Holly. “India Is the Home of the World's Biggest Producer of Covid Vaccines. But It's Facing a Major Internal Shortage.” CNBC, CNBC, 5 May 2021, www.cnbc.com/2021/05/05/why-covid-vaccine-producer-india-faces-major-shortage-of-doses.html. 

Holder, Josh. “Tracking Coronavirus Vaccinations Around the World.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 Jan. 2021, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/world/covid-vaccinations-tracker.html. 

“India.” Worldometer, www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/india/. 

Menon, Shruti. “India Coronavirus: Can All Adults Get Vaccinated in 2021?” BBC News, BBC, 1 June 2021, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55571793. 

National Geographic Society. “Save the Plankton, Breathe Freely.” National Geographic Society, 7 Aug. 2015, www.nationalgeographic.org/activity/save-the-plankton-breathe-freely/. 

The New York Times. “What to Know About India's Coronavirus Crisis.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Apr. 2021, www.nytimes.com/article/india-coronavirus-cases-deaths.html. 

“With 1.3 Billion People, India Struggles to Maintain Social Distancing During the Pandemic.” U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2020-05-18/india-struggles-to-maintain-social-distancing-amid-coronavirus-pandemic. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Extra Credit Event 2: Veteran Journeys Opera

-
Image
 For this event, I went to the Veteran Journeys Opera: World Premiere. This event was done in partnership with the Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the California Arts Council. I really enjoyed this event and it was both meaningful and unique. The composer of the opera is Dr. Kenneth Wells who has an MD and MPH and works at UCLA. In the past he has composed other operas about topics such as mental health. He uses media and the arts to address the stigma surrounding mental health. His first opera was called "The First Lady" and was on the topic of dealing with grief. His second opera was called "The Center Cannot Hold" about recovery from schizophrenia. His third opera is the one I viewed, called "Veteran Journeys".  Dr. Kenneth Wells  I had never viewed an opera before, so this was a new experience for me. I really liked how this opera told stories, while embracing the theatre performance. It told true stories to honor veterans just ...
Read more

Week 6: BioTech and Art

-
Image
 As someone who is interested in health and medicine, the food component of this week's biotech material was especially interesting to me. I understood somewhat the relationship of food production to health but I did not realize the many interconnected facets that make up the entire food supply chain. From the beginning of the food production process there are many factors that affect food production, including the use of biotechnology to develop feed, the types of feed that is fed to cattle, government policy, production efficiencies, and wages that employees are paid. Scientists have been able to use biotechnology to genetically edit plants and develop artificial feed to give to livestock. This is not as healthy as natural raise livestock, and can impact the food we eat. Biotechnology has also been used to produce food faster and at a lower price. Although some may think this artificial alteration is good, it has actually had some negative impacts on food production in the United...
Read more

Week 2: Math and Art

-
Image
 Before this week, I did not think math and art intersected. I am not the best at either, so their intersection had never previously sparked my interest. However, this week I found that the intersection between art and math is not uncommon and is very intriguing.  One thing that stuck out to me when learning about this topic was vanishing points in art. Many artists try to provide a correct perspective viewpoint for their art. To do so, they use mathematical formulas to solve for the viewing distance and vanishing point. They can use these measurements in their art, to make viewers feel like they are part of the artwork. One example of this that stuck out to me, was how museum used shish kebab skewers to discover viewpoints of perspective works and appreciate the art.   Vanishing points and different perspecitves Another thing that stuck out to me when examining this topic was fractals. Fractals are geometric shapes made up of smaller parts. Each smaller part shows the sh...
Read more